Bluegrass State of Mind (32 page)

“
We can’t just walk up to
a Senator and become part of his group,” Parker said.

“
Sure we can,” Will and Mo
said at the same time. Mo and Will took the lead and Parker offered
Kenna his arm.

“
Senator. Good to see you
again, Sir. Have you met our host, Sheik Rahman?” Will gestured to
Mo. “Sheik, this is Senator Bruce. He is a powerful man in Congress
and I am sure just the person you would want to talk with.” Will
noticed that the Senator had pulled his hand out from under the
woman’s skirt. Will could see his ego expanding as he heaped on the
praise.

“
Senator. It is nice to
make your acquaintance. We should talk after the Derby about a deal
I want to make with the U.S. to help lower your oil prices. If Will
recommends you, I am sure you are just the man who is powerful
enough to bring such economic relief to your people,” Mo bowed his
head respectively.

“
Sheik, it is just an
honor for you to come to me with such a proposal. I would love to
hear it. Will is right, I am the Chairman of the…” His words were
cut off by the boom of the bass drum simulating cannon
fire.

By the fourth boom of the bass drum,
Kenna saw three men hurriedly making their way toward the Senator.
Ahmed had come to stand next to her so he could speak more easily
to Agent Parker. The three took a small step closer to the Senator
to hear what the security men were whispering to him.

“
Is there a problem,
Senator?” Mo had converted to his royal bored voice, but the
Senator did not seem to have heard him.

“
What do you mean
explode?” She noticed his voice cracked and leaned in closer to
hear the answer.

“
Yes, Sir. There appeared
to have been a small gas tank leak. When someone flicked a finished
cigarette, um, well, the fumes caught and then the gas caught.The
car, um, it exploded.” The security guard’s eyes were glued to his
shoes.

“
That is unfortunate
Senator. I have more people to see to, as I am sure you understand.
Let me leave you with Ahmed, my head of security. Ahmed!” Mo
snapped his fingers and Ahmed stepped to his side. “See that my
personal limousine is at the Senator’s disposal and make sure you
take him wherever he wishes to go tonight.”

“
Sheik, I am honored.
Thank you.”

Mo nodded and walked off.

Kenna grabbed Parker’s arm and
followed Mo and Will as they made their way around the room. The
orchestra started Dvorak’s Slovakian Dances. Kenna tapped her foot
and found herself swaying to the music as the men talked football
with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, who was surprisingly fond of
the American sport. She closed her eyes and took it in. The piece
was a quick paced dance music that slowed to beautiful, almost
playful, movements before picking you back up and twirling you
around.

She opened her eyes and found Will
standing in front of her. “Mo has everything under control. Let’s
dance.” He wrapped his arm around her waist as they went flying
around the dance floor. His strong frame led her around and around,
faster and faster. As he whipped her around the floor to the
contagious music of Dvorak, the stresses and fears flew off little
by little with every spin she made until all that was left was her
and Will. She looked up at him and saw his face was flushed. His
dimples shining as the music built to a fevered pace. They flew
around the floor, twirling, stepping and spinning. Her laughter
rang out as her feet barely touched the ground. The song dance came
to a dramatic end that left the dance floor breathless and the
crown cheering.

The orchestra took a bow before
starting a slow and beautiful violin piece. “May I have this
dance?” Will took an elegant bow, making her laugh again. She
offered him her hand and he led her out in a traditional waltz by
Strauss. “I know this has been a stressful night, but these are
moments I will treasure forever. The feel of you in my arms,
dancing and toasting with champagne… Nothing has ever felt so
right.”

She smiled and stepped closer to him,
her breasts brushing against his chest as they took another wide
turn. His leg slid between hers.

“
I know it sounds strange,
but all I feel now is relief. I should have told you and Mo
earlier. Will, this night has been magical. I am curious as to how
a football player is such a good dancer.”

“
It’s kind of
embarrassing, but in college my coach made me take ballroom and
ballet classes to improve my footwork when I was
scrambling.”

“
Well, make sure you thank
him for me. This has been such a romantic night, excluding the
exes, of course.”

“
Well, let me take you
home and show you what other moves I have.”

She laughed and shook her head. He
couldn’t be perfect after all. If cheesy lines were the worst of
it, she was pretty lucky.

Chapter
Sixteen

Kenna snuggled into her pillow. Will
definitely showed her moves she didn’t know even existed. She
drifted off to sleep with Will wrapped around her while strands of
their waltz danced to in her head.

She dreamt of her and Will alone on
the dance floor. He pulled her close, so close there was no telling
where her body ended and his started. As she reached up to look
into his eyes, she found the leering face of Chad.

She opened her mouth to scream, but no
sounds came out.

“
Ready to be taught how to
be a good girlfriend?”

She tried to pull away, but his hands
gripped her tight enough to break her arm bones. As he leaned
forward to kiss her, she jerked back as hard as she could. Kenna
woke when she hit the floor. The impact jarred her and knocked the
lamp from the nightstand. She took a deep breath to steady herself
and rubbed her bottom as she stood up. She looked around
embarrassed that Will might have seen her fall out of bed. But she
didn’t see him.

She went to the bathroom and found a
note from Will attached to the mirror, telling her he was checking
on the farm before breakfast. He asked her to call him when she was
ready to be picked up. Not wanting to bother him, she called Paige
and asked if she could pick her up on her way to the
party.

Kenna took a quick shower and applied
her makeup. She slipped into the sage colored sun dress and tan
wedges. She put on the matching Derby hat Paige made and headed
downstairs to wait for her. She only had to wait a minute before
she saw Paige’s car pull into the drive.

“
Good morning. You look
amazing!” Kenna told Paige as she got into the car. Paige was
highlighting her light brown hair and hazel eyes with a warm orange
colored sundress. Her hat’s base was the same orange, but it was
trimmed with a grass colored green organza ribbon that was tied
ornately in the back.

“
Thanks, you too. I am so
glad that hat worked for you.” Kenna noted that Paige looked a
little nervous, well as nervous as someone as tough as Paige
got.

“
Is something wrong,
Paige? You’re acting a little shy and you’re never shy?”

“
Actually, there is. I
know we just met a couple of months ago, but how could you not tell
me you had this boyfriend up in New York while you’re chasing after
Will? Does Will know about him?”

Kenna took a gasp and then cringed
when she realized how bad it looked to Paige. “How did you find
out?” she quietly asked.

“
You’re boyfriend stopped
by my store looking for you this morning.”

Suddenly scared, she couldn’t quite
stop her voice from shaking, “Did you tell him where to find
me?”

Paige didn’t say anything for a
minute, and then asked, “He’s not your boyfriend, is
he?”

“
Not anymore. But, Paige,
this is important. Did you tell him where I was
staying?”

“
No. I found it odd that
your boyfriend wouldn’t know where to find you. It was only after
he asked that it hit me that something was off. He knew so many
personal details about you that I didn’t know what to
think.”

Kenna blew out a breath and sighed, “I
had wanted to keep everything quiet, but I see I am not going to be
able to do so. I had to tell Will and Mo last night when Whitney
brought Chad to Mo’s ball.”

“
Maybe you should just
start from the beginning and I will drive slowly,” Paige said as
she pulled out of the driveway.

Kenna started the story and told Paige
all about Danielle, GTH, Chad, and the night she fled the City. As
they neared the Ashton Farm, she told Paige about the previous
night.

“
Oh man, I wish I could
have been there to see that,” she laughed. “I know this is a
serious situation, but come on! Blowing up a car? That’s true
friendship.”

Kenna burst out laughing. “I hadn’t
thought of it like that before, but you are right. I’ll make sure
to give Ahmed a kiss. Although, I am sure Agent Parker will just
lecture me again.”

“
Lecture you?
Why?”

“
Apparently Ahmed has
quite the international reputation as a tough guy; something to do
with how he interrogates people. I am assuming he doesn’t care too
much about the Geneva Convention laws on torture. Normally, I would
be freaked out. But he is just so sweet to me that I can’t imagine
any different side of him.”

“
Yeah, what’s sweeter than
blowing up a car surrounded by private security people?” Paige
chuckled. But then she turned serious. “Just forget about Agent
Parker. He’s just so, so, controlling. That’s it, controlling.
Like, he thinks because he’s in the FBI, he can just walk around
being superior to everyone. Telling them what to do and who to be
friends with.”

Kenna decided to keep her mouth shut
on that one. She was pretty sure Paige was upset because it was
Paige that normally controlled the relationship.

Paige stopped the car at the valet
parking. They both got out and headed down the stone path toward
the large white tent erected behind the house. Red roses were
everywhere and soft music filtered up to them.

“
Speak of the devil...”
Kenna grinned as she spotted Agent Parker making his way toward
them.

He stopped before them and tipped his
black cowboy hat at them. The black hat went perfectly with his
black suit. He definitely had the dark and brooding look down.
“Ladies. You both look like spring, itself.”

“
Thank you. You look quit
handsome, yourself. Is there any news from last night?” Kenna said
for them both since Paige still had not picked her chin off the
ground.

“
I ran all the searches
and did not find anyone matching your description, either reported
missing or showing up as a Jane Doe. You’re an attorney, so you
know all the possibilities. Because we don’t have evidence of a
crime, we cannot arrest Chad for assault at this time. That is,
unless you decide to file charges. I have someone working to find
the origin of the mystery warrant issued for you and your friend. I
will let you know what we find out.”

“
I was afraid of that. I
did want to tell you that Chad stopped by Paige’s shop this morning
looking for me,” she told Agent Parker as she waved at Will who was
approaching them.

“
Good morning, Cole. Glad
you could make it out,” Will said as he shook Agent Parker’s
hand.

“
Cole?” Paige sputtered
out.

“
That’s me,” Agent Parker
gestured toward the tent. “How about we walk down to the tent and
I’ll get you a mimosa? You can tell me about your encounter with
Chad.”

“
Okay, Agent Parker. Lead
the way.”

“
Cole, please, or Parker.
Either work, but you all can drop the Agent title. Today I am just
one of your group.”

Kenna was pretty sure Cole had a death
wish when he put his hand on the small of Paige’s back and escorted
her to the tent.

“
Cole?” Kenna asked Will
as she turned to receive his kiss.

“
Yeah, who knew he had a
personality. He stopped by the barn this morning when I was doing
rounds and helped me feed the horses. He told me he has a friend
doing him a favor and looking into things in New York. He realizes
this isn’t Mo pulling rank for nothing. The reports he’s getting
back from New York show deep shadows of corruption all through the
FBI, the NYPD, the judicial system, and even to Congress. He and
one other person are trying to find something solid. They are in
the delicate position of not knowing who to trust and working on
the case without permission from their higher ups.”

“
Wow! I guess there is
more to Cole than I thought.”

Will put his hand around her waist and
pulled her in tight. “You look beautiful this morning. Getting out
of your bed was the hardest thing I have ever done.” He leaned down
and gave her a quick but passionate kiss. “The rest will have to
wait until the limo ride up to Louisville. Come on, let me
introduce you to some of my friends.”

Kenna spent the next hour being
introduced to Will’s old coaches from UK, coaches and teammates
from the NFL, high school buddies, and even old teachers from grade
school. In between meeting the special people from Will’s life, she
also met the Governor of Kentucky and a slew of Kentucky
celebrities including Ashley Judd, Diane Sawyer, and William
Shatner.